What are yours?
If any of the themes below resonate with you, I’d love to hear from you.
with love ✨, CATHERINE
Observations on moving, breathing and being. These are mine.
I’ve been writing them down since 2020.
I took a long pause. I’m back now.
A reflection on the importance of the hug
Virginia Satir, often referred to as the pioneer of family therapy, highlighted the importance of physical touch overall—and specifically hugs—when she equated modes of life (survival, maintenance, growth) with the number of hugs received per day (4, 8, 12).
The need for touch is real. It is a significant part of the human experience, connecting us to self and to others. Without it, we can feel deprived, even starved, for physical contact with another.
A reflection on turning impediments into fortune
I’ve heard that vinyl records have enjoyed a resurgence of late. If you remember them at all, you might recall that they have grooves. Vinyls tend to work until these grooves become scratched or broken such that the result is an endless loop across the same recorded section…over and over again.
We as humans have similar grooves, too. And we also tend to work until these grooves result in repeated patterns of behavior, difficult to resist, that no longer serve us yet which we relive…over and over again…keeping us “stuck” or frozen in the past.
In yoga, we know these grooves to be samskaras…
A reflection on penning our own life's story
Stories are often created from ignoring the truth of a person, behavior, situation, culture, system and the like. Within our own lives, we allow ourselves to become actors, learning to play our roles quite well within these stories, both understanding and dancing around the often multi-layered, underlying subtext never to be spoken. We proudly wear our costumes and masks. We diligently show up for rehearsal. Occasionally we dare to improvise, exposing contextual moments of truth, often unknown to most, including ourselves. But eventually, as good actors do, we circle back to the story’s original intent so as to arrive at curtain call as expected.
Pause. Re-read if need be.
Life itself is made up of a compilation of these stories…
A reflection on badassery
bad·ass·e·ry | \ ˈbad-¦a-sə-rē \
1. The state or condition of being a badass: badass quality or character
2. The actions or behaviour characteristic of a badass
bad·ass | \ ˈbad-ˌas \
2. Of formidable strength or skill
One of my best friends stopped through town this past weekend. In addition to sharing delicious food and drink and overall inspiring conversation, specifically we discussed the notion of “badassery”—what it is (IMO, overall impressiveness) and how to both recognize and celebrate this state of mind, in others and in ourselves.
It’s this last part…badassery in ourselves…that kept me up at night: why is it so much easier to acknowledge it in anyone other than in ourselves?
A reflection on the inner child
Compassion (def.) – sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress, together with a desire to alleviate it
Self-Compassion – directing this compassion towards one’s self
Yoga philosophy* teaches us that our true nature can become imbalanced due to physical, mental and emotional conditions. These may manifest as tightness in our bodies and breath or as feelings of restlessness, worry, helplessness and the like. We can work to reduce or prevent these imbalances through practice—moving, breathing, sitting—learning to nurture attitudes of friendliness, compassion, pleasure and non-judgement. These healing virtues, or “yogic vitamins”, have as much to do with our relationship with ourselves as they do with our relationships with others.
I have struggled over the years with accepting compassion, in particular, as a two-way exchange…
A reflection on overwhelm
Most people who know me would likely describe me as a highly motivated person. I would tend to agree. I have a lot of drive that, when channelled appropriately, can propel me into action, and, when not, can stop me in my tracks.
At times, it can seemingly do both…
A reflection on goodbyes
These words from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar were what I chose for my high school graduation quote many moons ago. As a military brat, I’ve had my fair share of goodbyes over the years, which has continued into adulthood—from schools to cities to homes to jobs to family, friends, boyfriends, etc. And despite all of the many opportunities, never have I quite mastered the art of the farewell.
A reflection on breaking open your heart
For many years, I kept my heart closed in an effort to protect myself. After enough hurt and disappointment, I decided that my fear of pain was more important to protect than was my desire for connection to nurture. And so it went. For many years.
And then I found therapy. Similar to my first few years of my yoga journey, I showed up each week, rolling out my mat or sitting on the couch, thinking that that was “the Work”. All the while, I sensed these undercurrents slowly signaling to me that there was more to it. I ignored as much as I could, convincing myself for some time that just showing up was enough.
